Team Rajasthan

The Rajasthan franchise began its Indian Premier League journey on a high note, as they clinched the inaugural edition in 2008. Skipper Shane Warne led them successfully, performing the dual role of both, captain as well as coach. The following seasons were comparatively less fruitful, as the team tried to emulate its success in 2008 but repeatedly failed in its attempts. Shane Warne then bid adieu to professional cricket in 2011, playing his last game in the fourth season.

Rajasthan found their new captain in veteran Indian batsman Rahul Dravid ahead of the fifth IPL season. The purchase of Brad Hogg, Brad Hodge, Dinesh Chandimal and S Sreesanth added more variety to the already existing line-up that included the likes of Shane Watson, Shaun Tait and so on. Sreesanth was ruled out due to injury but the rest managed to perform consistently, with special reference to Ajinkya Rahane. But that didn't help Rajasthan's cause as they were unlucky to miss out on the qualification for the playoffs. However, they were recipients of the Fair Play Award and rightfully so, under Dravid's astute leadership. Rajasthan put in consistent performances for the next three years but in 2016, they were banned for two years due to an off-field issue.

On their return, Rajasthan bought quite a few superstars in the 2018 auction. Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler were notably the biggest buys for them. They made it to the knockout stages but were eventually beaten by Kolkata in Eliminator.

Rajasthan's fortunes dipped massively in the following seasons. There was a change in guard when Sanju Samson was handed over the captaincy but Rajasthan finished either at rock bottom or near the foot of the table in three consecutive editions since 2019.
Ahead of the mega auction in 2022, Rajasthan retained Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal and picked up quality players like Trent Boult, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal and Yuzvendra Chahal to name a few. Samson remained at the helm of the Pink team. That same season, Rajasthan reached the IPL Final for the first time since the inaugural season but they lost against the new Gujarat franchise.

Rajasthan had built up a very solid team and after just missing out on the playoffs in the 2023 season, they once again made the knockout stages in 2024 after finishing 3rd in the league stage. They yet again lacked the experience in the big games though and have had a major reshuffle ahead of the 2025 IPL season but have managed to keep the Indian core tight.

Sanju Samson will once again lead the team but the biggest news is that former Indian head coach and former Rajasthan skipper and coach, Rahul Dravid has returned to the franchise as head coach. The likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel will be expected to step up big time as they have lost their bowling core of Boult, Ashwin and Chahal. They do seem a little light on the bowling front and it will be the overseas contingent that might have to fill that void. Rajasthan did rope in the likes of Lankan spin duo Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana and the Afghan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi who might take the new ball alongside Sandeep Sharma. The biggest positive for them is the return of Jofra Archer who is fit and has played plenty of cricket coming into the season. With that said, Rajasthan do lack that big overseas X-factor on the batting front and only time will tell if they can follow in the footsteps of the 2008 side and win big with a talented young side.